Your Favorite Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe

[Old Spice]

It's a big hole in my cooking, but I have never made a lemon meringue pie. Not even a lousy one. But my mom's been hankering for one recently, and I'd like to make one for her 84th birthday this week, instead of a cake. Looking through my cookbooks and on-line, I realized that I don't really know how to judge that one recipe might be better than another.

So, do any of you have a favorite lemon meringue pie recipe? I want recipes that you make and love, so please don't take time to google for one. I can do that myself, and have already. If you could include a brief explanation of why you prefer your recipe (i.e., more or less lemon than most, more or less cornstarch, a "secret" technique, etc.), it would be most helpful.

I'm not looking for what I think of as northeastern diner versions of lemon meringue pie, but that ethereal, wonderful, lighter-than-air-but-with-a-big-flavor thing your aunt or grandmother or lady down the street--or you--made or makes. Also, I'm cool on the pastry...it's the filling I need.

Thanks for your help.

[ForFoodsSake]

Bon Appetit did a lime and blackberry Italian meringue pie -- I love it, and have also done a lemon meringue pie based off of the recipe: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/08/lime-and-blackberry-italian-meringue-pie

Here's another for lemon meringue blueberry pie: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/200...

[jenscats5]

While this may or may not help, my grandmother made a much loved lemon-whipped-cream pie.....shortbread-type crust (not sure if store bought or not), 2 packages LEM filling and whipped cream on top. My favorite!

[RozHunter]

Not exactly an answer for your question, but a plea for help from experts here, with the ff filling that I just made but can't get it to thicken enough. I have cooked and cooked it (it thickened but didn't ever get clear. After about half an hour of this I incorporated the eggs but it is still runny. I wonder if I can put it into a double boiler and cook the filling some more to thicken it, or is it too late?? Roz

[blue room]

The pie filling will never become "clear" -- it is thick and yellow. Unless you've made a mistake with the ingredients or method of cooking, it will thicken *a lot* when it is cooled/chilled.

[RozHunter]

thank you for that blue room still I wonder how to salvage the filling! would recooking work, or adding a really thick tapioca pudding that I could concoct?

[BernalKC]

Did your recipe call for cooking the cornstarch and water (and zest) first, like the one I posted above? If so, the key is to develop and thicken that base first, before adding the lemon or egg.

Once you add the egg, you really don't want to overcook it. If you do, and the consistency is not right, its probably "broken" because the eggs have clotted. The best you'd be able to do in that case is to beat the mixture - probably with a mixer - to get it back to an even texture. Cooking more probably won't help.

[RozHunter]

Thank you Bernal and Jenscats5, yes I followed the Fannie Farmer recipe to a t. The base did thicken, but not as much as it needs to and I beat and cooked for a very long time. I was thinking I could cook it some more in a double boiler so as not to burn it, or perhaps make a really thick tapioca pudding and fold it in. Another alternative is to make some whipped cream and fold that in, which is how I used to make lemon meringue pie, with an additional layer of crust! I am still puzzled as to why the filling didn't thicken for me, to the extent needed. Perhaps it is because I live at c. 5200 ft elevation, in Albuquerque NM.

[BernalKC]

Elevation? Huh. I'd suspect variability in the lemon juice acidity and sweetness. The good thing about that recipe is that it uses a lot of lemon, but it can also depend more on the lemon juice as a result. But I guess a slightly different boiling point could make a difference too.

[RozHunter]

Yes, I try to compensate for the elevation and lower boiling point when I think it matters. I cooked that filling for a good half hour and it still didn't get thick enough. I ended up making a small batch of tapioca and blending it in, which did make it thicker. I put on the meringue and browned it (actually I burned it, just not doing anything right yesterday it seems!) Then I refrigerated it over night and now it looks good but I haven't cut into it yet. After the gym today I will.

[bushwickgirl]

Funny lemon meringue story: I worked with a waitress years ago and we got into a conversation about lemon meringue pie. She told me that when she first got married and didn't know how to cook, her new husband requested the pie, so she made hm one. All went well with the filling, but she didn't get the concept of meringue and simply spread raw egg white, mixed with a little sugar, on top of the pie, then popped in into the oven to brown.
Must have been a culinary delight!

Glad you got you recipe.

[blue room]

Well, I use Jello lemon pudding (the kind that must be cooked, not instant). It calls for sugar and egg yolk, but I use fresh lemon juice in place of about 2 -3 tablespoons of the water called for. Also I add some finely grated peel from the same lemon.
I suspect the Jello mix is mainly cornstarch anyway. It works fine.

[BernalKC]

I don't have the recipe in hand, but I always use the filling recipe from Fannie Farmer. Why? Because it is heavy on both lemon and cornstartch and yields the best flavor with a reliably firm texture. No weepy, runny fillings. Plenty of lemon zing.

The key is to let the cornstarch develop by cooking long enough before adding the lemon juice and egg yolk. Again, I don't have the particulars in front of me but I have to cook it longer than they say, being sure to stir constantly and vigorously, carefully scraping into the 'corners' of the sauce pan to ensure an even texture. When it starts to feel firm, keep going. I'm sure it is possible to overcook the cornstarch mix at this stage, but I have never done so. The only pitfall I've had has been the occasional cornstarchy lump which can be avoided by stirring like crazy.

The other key to color, flavor, and I think it adds to the firmness, is plenty of lemon zest.

[goodhealthgourmet]

link to the Fannie Farmer recipe:

http://www.post-gazette.com/food/1999...

[BernalKC]

Curious. I read this yesterday and knew it was not the recipe I use. And it does not match my directions above. Turns out the link one is from "The Fannie Farmer Baking Book" which is different. Here is my transcription [with commentary] of the one I use -- which I think is much better because it cooks the cornstarch mix first:

- pre-baked pie shell
- merignue topping
- the filling:

4Tbs corn starch
4Tbs flour
1/4tsp salt
1 1/24 c sugar
1 1/2 c water
grated rind of 1 lemon
1/2 c lemon juice
2Tbs butter
4 egg yolks, slightly beaten

Mix the cornstarch, flour, salt, sugar and water in a saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes. [Yeah, right. Longer is better. You cannot make it thicker later. Now is the time.]
Remove from heat.
Stir in the lemon rind, lemon juice, and butter.
Stir 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks, then stir the yolks into the remaining hot mixture.
Cook, stirring, for another 3 minutes. [Since the eggs are in the mix now, don't mess with this time too much.]
Let cool a bit. Spread the filling in the pie shell.
Cover with the meringue [being sure to mush the meringue to the crust edges to make sure the meringue adheres to the crust].
Run under the broiler until the meringue peaks are lightly browned.

[goodhealthgourmet]

who knew? :)

thanks for the clarification!

[Plano Rose]

I've found that putting the filling in while still pretty warm seems to keep the meringue from weeping. My recipe is very much like yours except I leave out the lemon zest. Prefer the taste of just the juice.

[Old Spice]

BernalKC, thanks for the Fanny Farmer recommendation. That's the one I used today and it was exactly what I was looking for. Right texture and nice and tart. We all enjoyed it. It's a keeper.

[BernalKC]

Great. Glad it worked out for you.

[dabrar]

Thanks for the correction; however, I am using the 12th (1980) edition of the FF Cookbook and find, on page 589, that the recipe instructs that the cornstarch mixture be cooked "over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, then cook 10 minutes more, stirring frequently, until clear." The instructions continue: "Remove from the heat. Stir 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks, then stir the yolks into the remaining hot mixture [return to the heat] and cook, stirring, for another 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon rind, lemon juice, and butter. Let cool a bit. Spread the lemon mixture in the baked pie shell and cover with the meringue."

This is my recipe of choice, and I've never had it fail.

[BernalKC]

Wow, that is interesting. I'm looking at the 13th edition right now and it is almost exactly the same, except the key instruction: "then cook 10 minutes more, stirring frequently, until clear" is missing! The rest of your copy matches mine. I ad libbed a bit and added my own commentary to my transcription in the other steps.

I started making this recipe using my mom's tattered FF. She had at least one older edition that was in pieces -- from the 30's as I recall. My first copy of FF is an old, tattered, falling apart book that I keep in my basement for archaeological curiosity... and somewhere in that history I learned to cook the cornstarch mixture for a good long time before adding the eggs.

One wonders why they altered the recipe in the 13th edition?